[zeidrich]

I don't know if I agree. The thing is, what Newegg is doing, especially by publicizing it is to tell trolls to avoid Newegg.

That's great for Newegg, but it means that future trolls will skip them, and just go after the startups and small businesses that don't have the resources to fight a lawsuit on principal.

I'm not saying that what Newegg is doing is bad, or even that it doesn't help. I'm just saying that the publicity that they are seeking for it might end up working out well for them by getting people to stop suing THEM, but won't work well to get people to stop suing other, smaller businesses.

If a patent troll were to sue you for something you've implemented, and you knew that Newegg implemented it too, you'd have a difficult time getting Newegg to fund your defense I think. Unless the troll sues Newegg, nobody's going to help you out. If the trolls just avoid Newegg, they can still get their payout.

[mcv]

What we need is a big party willing to defend all the small parties.

How about some sort of patent troll insurance that takes over your defense and sues to invalidate the patent? The insurance should cost a smaller amount of money than settlement would cost. The more companies have that insurance, the bigger the defense you can mount, and the lower the costs for everybody are.

The first person sued by the troll immediately takes it to court and wins, invalidating the patent, and ensuring that only one lawsuit will have to be fought and everybody else is safe.

Of course this could mean that a lot of people feel they don't need the insurance because someone else will invalidate the patent for them, but if the list of people and companies protected by this insurance is public, those without it will be the first to be sued. So eventually, everybody will want this insurance, and the trolls will be forced to take it to court every time.

There's got to be a business model in this.